Lost in Shadows
by Sputz
Summary: Voldemort is dead, but the nightmare for Hermione is just beginning as she is turned into a vampire and flees the Wizarding World. But then after a chance encounter with an old acquaintance, everything starts to change... (HGSS)
1. White Teeth

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I just take it out to play.   
I told you I would be back with another Hermione/Sevvie! Enjoy! (Or at least try to.)

_Note- I am re-uploading this because I am not happy with the way it was before! There are only small changes, so it's not _essentail_ that anyone re-reads it!_   
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**Chapter One- White Teeth**

A flash of white teeth.

Hermione walked down the silent, dark road. A little way behind her, she could hear the noises of the party, if she strained her ears.

The celebration of the victory of the Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

She knew that she should be there. She had been there. In fact, there was only one reason why she was not there enjoying herself with her friends at that very moment...

But it was out of her control.

Hermione continued to walk.

At the corner of her left eye she saw a beam of light reflecting off something white.

A tiny voice in her head was babbling wildly about what was happening to her.

Vampire! You know what it is, Hermione, a vampire is controlling your mind. You just need to fight it, force yourself to go back to the party, tell everyone and get their help... You even know how to fight them on your own!

The voice began to list ways that she could fight it, defeat it, everything that it knew. And being the inner voice of the fabled Hermione Granger, it knew a great deal.

The problem was that Hermione was not Harry Potter. She was not able to resist mind control. She had mastered almost everything else that a witch possibly could, but this was the one thing that had somehow always escaped her.

As a powerful witch, Hermione was rarely helpless... but this was one of the occasions in which she was. She could not even call for help.

Her journey ended suddenly behind some dustbins.   
The little voice in her head said sarcastically, 'How lovely. You're going to die while everyone else is celebrating, behind some dustbins.'

"Hermione Granger," said a voice slowly. "What an honour."

Hermione, of course, was unable to answer.

"I have been looking forward to this moment for years, you know," it said conversationally. "I have been watching you. You will be quite an asset to us, I must say. All those NEWTS, the powerful contacts, and extremely gifted at magic as well. Everything I have been looking for."

The speaker stepped into the light thrown by one of the streetlamps.

"Yes, Hermione. Feast your eyes- after all, you will need to know me. I will be your everything."

Hermione could not help it- she looked.

The man in the light was certainly not ugly- in fact, he was quite the reverse. Long pale brown hair, a face that was a sculptor's dream, a moderate build. There was a commanding sort of presence around him.

But the more she examined him, the more she realised that he was not as pleasing as she had thought.

Handsome as the man was, his appearance was somehow cold, disturbing to look at after a few moments. His presence was not benevolent, like that of Dumbledore; it was oppressing. After only a few moments, Hermione felt like she was being smothered.

"Do you like what you see, Hermione?" said the man, seemingly unaware that she was doubting him. "You can have it, if you like. For eternity."

Suddenly, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Hermione flexed her arms, somehow feeling that they were stiff. She was, once again, in control.

Slowly, she began to feel for her wand.

Hermione noticed after a moment that the vampire was expecting her to talk.

"You want to turn me into a vampire?"

"Of course, what else? From what I know about you, you would make an ideal companion for me."

She frowned. "What if that isn't what I want?"

Hermione grasped her wand, preparing a few hexes and curses.

The vampire sighed.

"I see that this will not be as easy as I hoped. You wand please, Hermione." Hermione felt her hand rise and give the wand back to the vampire. "You can have this the easy way or the hard way. If you try to run or attack me, I can and will stop you. Please try to co-operate."

"Why are you doing this?"

"For me... and for you. If you come with me, you can have immortality to do anything you please with. Study, travel, anything you like. Do you not want that?"

It was tempting. Hermione knew that it was tempting. The vampire knew how much it tempted her; that was why he was asking.

But she also knew that she could never accept the offer.

"If you come with me, I will have a companion for myself, one who is intelligent enough to converse with. I can show you power, Hermione. You could do things you only dreamed of."

"You know I could never say yes, no matter what you do or say... what was your name?"

"I go by a number of names- after all, you pick up a few over the millennia. I think that my favourite, however, is Damien. You will learn the rest over time."

Damien, thought Hermione. Means... sweet and harmless. I wonder what went wrong?

"I haven't accepted your offer yet, Damien," she said, as confidently as she could.

The vampire smiled a mirthless smile, and Hermione felt her blood run cold.

"I have been patient, Hermione. I have waited for you for so many years. But now my patience has run out. I will have you tonight."

"But you made it sound like I had a choice," she said pleadingly.

"I would have preferred you to come willingly. However, come you will in the end."

Hermione could not think of anything to say.

She had spent the last few years of the war against Voldemort expecting death to come at any moment. And to many it had, often barely missing her.

But tonight... tonight she had thought that she was safe, that she could just enjoy herself and what had promised to be the rest of a happy, peaceful life to come.

Apparently not.

Damien was coming closer, although making no noise as he moved. In fact, everything was silent. There were no footsteps, no rustles of clothing. Just her death stalking closer and closer.

Hermione tried to back away, but as she did, she felt the weight of the mind control spell that the vampire appeared to be so adept at stopping her escaping.

Damien was so close that she should have been able to feel his breath, and the heat from his body.   
She could feel nothing. He was cold. There was no heartbeat, no warm breath against her cheek. No life in the cold, dark eyes staring down at her.

Hermione was aware of her head tilting back, but was still a little shocked at the feel of sharp teeth grazing her neck. They brushed against it for a moment, then suddenly pierced the soft, white skin there.

She gasped as she felt the vampire's tongue on her neck, lapping up the blood that was quickly appearing.

As the energy began to drain out of her, her body slumped, and was only held up by Damien's arms, which had clamped around her waist.

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Severus Snape stared into the depths of his mug of firewhisky.

"Severus, I thought that you and Hermione had decided to meet here?"

The man looked up to see Harry Potter, who he was never happy to see at the best of times. And funnily enough, even at this joyous hour, this was not the best of times for Severus.

"So did I, Potter."

"Severus, I always told you to call me Harry."

"I never told you to call me Severus," muttered the older man irritably into his glass.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," said Harry. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had any idea where Hermione is?"

"None at all," said Severus glumly.

"Oh. Do you think she went home?"

"I doubt it. She is probably just with some people that she enjoys spending time with more than me."

Severus cringed at what he had just said. He sounded like a moody teenager!

It was true, though, that Hermione had agreed to meet him. She had known that he was out of sorts in parties, so had promised him that she would meet him at the bar for a drink to celebrate together. It had been one of the only things he had been really looking forward to that evening.

"Nobody else has seen her for a while. We are beginning to get a little worried."

Severus shifted immediately.

"You should have just asked me, Potter. Tell me, have you tried her home?" Harry nodded. "Everywhere in the party?" Another nod. "The roads outside? She may have felt ill and gone out." Harry shook his head. "Well, I will go and look for her. After all, the 'hero of the hour' should be in here enjoying himself," said Severus wryly.

After a moment, the younger man nodded again. Severus put down his drink and stood, brushing down his spotless black robes.

Stepping out into the road, Severus began to walk down it, musing over how much had changed since the war had begun.

Hermione had decided to specialise in potions- it was the only thing that she had not found easy, she had said, so she had naturally wanted to improve.

After a while, she began to brew potions to a sufficiently high standard that she could work with him. Together, they had developed complex potions that would help in the final battle- both to attack and to heal.

Since they both worked in such a close proximity to each other, Severus had been forced to get to know the girl. It had turned out not to have been such a torture as he had imagined. Hermione reminded Severus a little of himself- just happier, and rather more socially adept (although this was not saying much).

Although Severus had always told himself that she would not turn up to drink with him tonight, that she would have better things to do than spend time with an old teacher, he had in truth been very disappointed that she had 'stood him up'.

As he neared the end of the road, Severus saw two figures embracing by the bins.

One of them had curly brown hair.

Severus immediately guessed that Hermione had found a lover at the party, and was choosing to celebrate with him.

For some inexplicable reason, that hurt.

As quietly as he could, Severus moved closer to the couple. He should find out who it was, he told himself. See if he was suitable, if he was good enough for her.

It was for her own good.

Damien drew back.

"Someone is coming."

Hermione would have been happy, but she was too weak to respond.

"I will not be able to take you with me tonight- there is no time. Do not worry though, my dear. I am sure that one of them will give you some blood to 'save your life', and make you like me. My doing or not, you will become one of us."

A tear squeezed itself from one of Hermione's eyes, and rolled slowly down her cheek. Damien touched the drop, and it burst on the tip of his finger.

"I will come back for you, Hermione. Be a good girl while I am gone," drawled the vampire with a smile.

With that, he leant Hermione against one of the bins, then was gone. Unable to hold herself up, she began to slide to the floor.

For the second time that evening, strong arms caught her.

"Hermione," said Severus, "look at me, say something."

She was too pale, he thought. And there was something on her neck.

He bent down, and saw the gaping wound there, blood pouring out of it. And she was so pale...

"Don't worry, Hermione. I can save you, there must be something I can do. Keep calm, just don't die... please..."

Although Hermione knew that she should stop him, tell him to let her die instead of turning her into a vampire, she could not.

There is something about human nature that will always resist death, no matter how close it is or whether it is right or wrong.

Hermione allowed her eyes to flutter shut as he picked her up, and was lost to oblivion.   
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	2. Choices

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.

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Chapter Two- Choices 

Severus turned towards Hermione with an empty glass vial; mentally

listing the options he had left.

He had tried everything. He had given her his best blood replenishing potions; she appeared resistant to them. He had given her potions that created artificial blood; she was resistant to them, too.

He was running out of options.

The wound on Hermione's neck was still bleeding sluggishly.

Severus had tried all of the clotting potions he knew, bandaged the wound with the best that the Wizarding World had to offer, but still the blood came.

Madam Pomfrey would have known what to do. Severus knew that most of the healers in Saint Mungo's would have known what to do.

But the Death Eaters had made certain that there was no Madam Pomfrey, or any healers. Or, in fact, any Wizarding hospitals, at all. They had been the first targets, the places whose loss would hit the Wizarding World hardest.

So now, the only one to be there for Hermione was Severus.

There was a tinkling sound as the fragile vial was crushed under the pressure that Severus had not even been aware he was putting on it.

"Shit."

He watched, feeling somehow detached from his body, as the blood from the cuts that had been made filled his cupped hand, and then dribbled down its sides.

A drop spilled down, and Severus watched as, almost in slow motion, it fell to splatter on Hermione's chin.

And then he watched as a pink tongue quickly shot out of her mouth and licked the red liquid up.

Severus was no fool. He immediately understood that things were worse than he had even imagined them to be.

'This is the point,' Severus thought to himself, 'where I should stop. She... Hermione would not want this, she would prefer me to let her go than to let her become a...'

Severus knew that Hermione had morals. It was just one of the things about her that had always fascinated him.

When they had worked together, he had debated with her every day about everything from House Elves to Azkaban. Her strength of belief in what was right and what was wrong had struck something deep within him.

Severus had known as he spoke to her that life was not made of black and white. He was sure that Hermione knew it too. But she had somehow managed to avoid the grays, and kept her own firm beliefs and views.

And much as he had wanted to, he could not sneer at her about it. He could taunt almost anyone about almost anything, but in her case, he had found that he did not even want to.

Much to his initial disgust, Severus had only found himself wanting to cherish and protect her, keep her brilliant mind from losing its direction in the maze of grey that he himself was trapped in.

When he had asked her about vampires, Hermione had told Severus that she, like everyone else, would love to have eternal life and the powers that came with being a vampire. But drinking blood was just wrong, and she would never sacrifice her morals for life and power.

'Oh, Merlin,' he thought. 'Hermione will hate me, she could never forgive me for doing this.

'But I can't let her go.'

Shaking slightly, Severus lowered his hand and allowed some of the blood in it to trail onto Hermione's lips. And again, she lapped it up.

So he gave her more.

Half an hour later, a pale and giddy Severus collapsed onto the bed beside a now peacefully sleeping Hermione.

Just before he finally allowed his eyes to close, he noticed that the wound on her neck was gone.

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Hermione opened her eyes, and surveyed the darkened room. 

The first thing she noticed was a large amount of mahogany. The second was that most of what was not made of mahogany was black anyway. Black armchairs, black walls, even paintings with black themes.

Rather belatedly, she noticed the man sleeping beside her.

'What did I do last night?' thought Hermione.

Hermione took in black hair falling either side of a forehead that, for once, was not marred by a frown. Severus, she noted, was even whiter than his normal level of pallor.

'He looked exhausted,' she thought concernedly.

Over the past few years, Hermione had become accustomed to looking after her old teacher, making sure he eat and slept. Once the man had an idea, he ignored everything else until he had followed it as far as it would go. It had been up to her to make sure he remained healthy.

Although Severus had always scolded her for 'mothering' him, Hermione did not stop. After all, she had always told him, he could not help if he was ill.

She had never told him that when he hurt himself, he hurt her in turn. Never told him that she cared for him, in spite of his bad temperedness and antisocial tendencies.

Hermione had vowed that she never would, either. After all, what would he want with her, an ex-student so much his junior? Strong willed as she was, Hermione did not care for rejection.

Which, of course, was why she was a little shocked to find that she had somehow managed to get into the bed of the man beside her.

After a moment Hermione frowned. She did not have a great deal of experience with sleeping with people, but generally when one did, they usually lost their clothes at some point.

Both she and Severus were still decidedly clothed in what they had been wearing last night. There were no signs at all of anything... well, anything less than platonic having happened.

And then something else struck her.

'How,' she thought, 'have I just been able to see all of this in a darkened room?'

She jumped out of the bed, being careful not to wake Severus, and walked towards the antique mirror that was hanging on the wall.

A few moments later, Hermione concluded that something very strange had occurred last night if not exactly what she had wanted to happen.

After all, one does not tend to wake up in the morning and find that one's eyes, although not outwardly any different, have adapted to see in the dark.

Hermione leant her head against the mirror, and took long, deep breaths. For some reason, this did not make her feel any better. She tried breathing normally, but this too changed nothing. And then, purely experimentally, she tried holding her breath.

A number of minutes later, and not a breath taken, Hermione concluded that something was very, very wrong.

"Night vision," she murmured, "not needing to breathe, no..." she touched her wrist, "no pulse. That sounds like... No. It can't be... Just no."

Hermione put her head in her hands as the memories of last night came back to her.

_A flash of white teeth. _

For once, Hermione was lost. There was nothing left to do. He would come back for her, if she 'lived' that long.

And only if.

After all, society was hardly tolerant of vampires. The easiest remedy for her situation was clean stake through the heart. It would only be too easy to add her name to the long list of recent causalities, and her friends could mourn another friend lost to the darkness.

The worst thing, Hermione knew, that that this time a day ago she would have agreed with them. Better, she would have said, to put the vampire out of its misery so that it did not have to hurt people.

A new perspective changes everything.

A tear rolled slowly down her cheek.

Hermione's newly sensitive ears picked up a change in the rate of Severus's breathing. A moment later, the lanky man on the bed beside her stirred, then sat up with a groan.

"Hermione. You're... awake."

"You did it, didn't you," she said. It was not a question.

Severus hung his head. "I did."

She sighed. "May I ask why?"

"Of course. You have the right to know."

There was a pause. He did not appear to be saying anything further, just waiting for her to actually ask the question.

'Typical Severus,' thought Hermione. 'Some things never change.'

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I was too weak. I know you- or at least I feel that I do. I know what you would probably have preferred. But I couldn't let you go, Hermione, I just couldn't. It would have been too much of a waste."

Hermione was still for a moment. As he had been talking, a strange feeling had begun to come over her. And now she felt like she was burning- but was somehow freezing as well.

She turned on the bed, and shifted closer to Severus. Raising a hand, and feeling the strange sensation going through it, she touched his cheek.

"Severus," she whispered, "if you could feel what you have done to me."

The man tried to look away from the eyes that were glinting at him, but was unable to tear his gaze away. In fact, he could not seem to summon the will to move at all.

He knew that he should be struggling against her, had read in countless books about the bloodlust that came over vampires just after they had changed from being human.

But, Severus reminded himself, it was all his fault, so who was he to stop her obeying her nature?

"It hurts, Severus. Inside I am burning, but I am so cold. I am dead, Severus, whether I am moving about or not. And I can't help it. I don't want to do this..."

Hermione suddenly shuddered, her head tilting back slightly. Severus watched, transfixed, as two sharp points protruded from between her lips.

"Severus," she said, sounding choked, "I can't stop."

With that, she wrenched his head back and plunged her teeth into his neck. Severus jumped at the initial pain. And then the pain stopped. The teeth were replaced by a tongue, stroking his neck gently and lapping up the blood there.

As he felt himself going limp, he fell back on the bed and Hermione went with him. Closing his eyes, he saw a multitude of colours flash before them. All he was only truly conscious of was the weight of the woman lying atop of him.

And then it was over. Hermione sat back on her haunches, and surveyed the man below her.

Already, the fog that had clouded her mind allowing her to think of nothing but the need for blood had cleared, and she was coming to terms with what she had done.

'I drank blood,' she thought. 'And I enjoyed it.'

'I can never forgive myself.'

"Why did you stop?" came the quiet voice of the man on the bed with her.

"What do you mean?"

"You could have killed me. It would have been easier that way. Why didn't you?"

"I don't kill, Severus. I will never kill. I didn't when I was, well, alive. It doesn't change now."

"Maybe I don't want to live."

Hermione gave him a sad smile.

"I will not do it. You made my decision for me, but I will not for you. You will not die by my hands.

"I think that now all I have left to do is excuse myself. I will make my way from here, Severus. Do not try to follow me, please, or recruit anyone else to do so. Goodbye."

With that, Hermione stood, and straightened the robes that she was still wearing from the night before.

With a last sad look at Severus, she turned from him and swept out of the room and away from everything she had ever known.

All that Hermione knew was that now she was better off alone.

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**Thanks to my huggable reviewers- so many for my first chapter! You rock my... er, slippers! Thanks to Laurie, remus4me (**sadly, I am the Queen of the Cliffie. There will be worse to come...), **Squashes **(me, big headed? I'm the MOST modest person in the world ever! LOL),** Madnutterfan, Slytheringirl22, Natsuyori, Alma1 **(that's just fine! In fact, it's better than fine!),** sexy severus, Maydelynne Rae, Amy Lee (**I'm trying my best to avoid clichees. I'm bored of them myself), **Egyptian-Princess, Katrina Tonk, Princess Starseed 1987, Talon McGreggor **(damn those plot holes! LOL)**, Grand-Illusion, Anja, Druscilla Danuliete and Kail Ceanni**(I changed the dustbin thing! Oooops!).

_Please review!_


	3. Running

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sniffle. **

Big hugs to my new beta, Heather! 

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**Chapter Three- Running**

"_There's another world inside of me that you may never see,  
There's secrets in this life I can't hide.  
Well, somewhere in this darkness, there's a light that I can't find  
Well, maybe its to far away, maybe I'm just blind"_

_When I'm Gone- 3 Doors Down_

­

Hermione sat all but hidden behind the high back of the crimson armchair that she was reclining in and listened to the people chattering around her.

One of the conversations taking place nearby caught her attention, so she settled back to listen.

"Welcome to the Circle," said a deep, silky voice that she recognised. It was not, of course, thedeep voice of the man that she knew that she would never see again.

Nevertheless, hearing the voice of the speaker, so similar to that of Severus, comforted her. It was something familiar, almost warm, in the cold hostile world that she currently inhabited.

"There are a few things that you need to know before you begin to meet people," said another voice, female this time.

Hermione knew both of these voices. They were the voices of the married couple that had founded the Circle together five years ago and ran all of its meetings.

"First thing," began the man, "we _know_ you want to be a vampire. Everyone in the Circle does, and while you are here you can pretend to be whatever you want. But no matter what you pretend, please remember that you are only human. Don't do anything foolish."

"By 'foolish'," added the lady, "we mean that you should remember that you cannot accomplish anything superhuman and should not drink much blood. We do have a supply of animal blood from the butchers, and you can be served some in a shot glass if you want."

"But we don't recommend it. It's not a nice taste, and people really only drink it if they're showing off or haven't tried it before. It can, and very likely will, make you ill."

Hermione could almost hear the new addition to the Circle frown.

"So why do you serve it, then?"

The woman sighed. "Because some of our new members drank some alcohol when the group had just started and decided that they wanted a taste of blood. There was… trouble."

"Trouble?" asked the newcomer with a slight tremor to her voice.

Hermione heard the rustle of hair against clothes as she turned to look around, no doubt for troublemakers that were out to suck _her_ blood.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again. That's why we serve blood; so that those who _really _want it can have some."

"Do many people actually like to drink it?"

"Just the odd one or two. And that was the other thing we wanted to warn you about."

Another rustle of clothing. The newcomer must have leaned forward.

"Do you see the armchair over there, the one with the high back?" said the man more quietly.

Hermione smiled. No matter what they thought, she would still hear the people talking about her even if they whispered.

"That is Hermione's chair. You don't talk to Hermione unless she talks to you -- and I doubt that will happen. She doesn't speak much."

"Hermione is one of the people that drinks blood. She doesn't have anywhere to live, and doesn't like to talk, but that's really all we know about her."

"We think that she only comes here because we serve blood," finished the man.

Hermione smiled wryly at that and turned to toast the speakers with her glass of blood. She nearly laughed out loud at the terrified squeak from the girl.

"Well," said the man with a sigh, "at least now you know who she is. Just… be careful."

"Most of the people in the Circle are pretty harmless. They just want to meet people, like I expect you do. But some of the others are different. You should watch for them."

At this point, Hermione stopped listening to the conversation. She had heard all she needed- the newcomer would not try to talk to her and attempt to make her join in the socialising. They would leave her be.

Hermione had never been particularly good at socialising, even when she was human. It had taken her friendship with Harry and Ron to make her go out and meet any people at all.

As a vampire, Hermione knew that she had no chance at all. If any prospective friends were not scared off by her abysmal people skills, then her pointed, gleaming teeth would probably finish off the job just fine.

The only reason why Hermione even bothered coming to the Circle's nightly meetings was that they provided her with some of the blood that she needed each day. Besides, it was someplace where she could spend time.

Hermione had not slept once in the two years that had passed since she was bitten- after all, she did not actually need to do so, so why expose herself?

Exposure. That was everything, really. If Hermione slept, then Damien could come for her, and she would not be ready to defend herself.

Hermione would have left, gone somewhere else, but she knew that if she left the country, then he could follow her, catch her on her way. That was why she had stayed in England, hidden in the darkest places in London.

And what better place for a vampire to hide than a club for vampire wannabes?

Almost all real vampires scorned such clubs- except for the odd one who thought it funny to take one of the people from it, offer to make them a vampire, then kill them instead.

That had happened once in the Circle. Hermione had immediately sensed the presence of the vampire when he had entered the club and quickly cloaked her own powers.

When he had selected one of the girls and taken her out of the club, Hermione's Gryffindor instincts had screamed at her to save the girl, to chase off the vampire and any others who came.

But she had not. She had let the vampire take the girl and just called for the barman to bring her more blood.

Then she had sat until it congealed in the glass that trembled in her cold hands, weeping for what she had been and what she was now. And as per her own orders, she had been left completely alone.

Possibly the worst thing was that even weeks later, nobody had spoken about the dead girl. Nobody had even asked where she had gone. Nobody came to look for her.

Hermione had found out over time that the members of the Circle were similar to herself in many respects. They were all alone with nowhere to go and nobody to look for them when they were gone.

The difference was that_ they _came to the Circle to change that, to make friends with people just like themselves.

Hermione had come to the Circle to ensure that she stayed the only way that she was safe- alone.

A gust of cold air jerked Hermione out of her reverie, and she watched, disinterestedly at first, as a new group of people entered the club.

She looked the youths over. They were dressed relatively smartly in comparison to most of the other people in the club. Most of the members of the Circle wore black; it was a sort of dress code.

But these people were not wearing the trashy attire that most of the Circle's members favoured.

Instead their attire screamed of money, and even though Hermione was not usually one to notice clothes, it was certainly enough to catch her attention.

Her fears were confirmed when she heard one of them order four glasses of blood in a commanding voice that, although quiet, carried through the suddenly silent club. Even though the muggles were not able to sense what she did, they could still tell that something was about to happen.

The very nervous barman handed the vampires their glasses, and they turned to survey the club.

Hermione could not suppress a gasp when she saw the face of the man who had ordered the drinks.

Damien had found her.

How, she did not know. She had done her best, tried everything in her power to avoid detection… but she had obviously failed.

"I would like everyone to stand up," stated Damien, "and move to the centre of the room."

All of the members of the Circle except Hermione stood obediently, and moved silently as they had been directed, their eyes blank and glassy.

Hermione remained where she was, wondering what was in store for her as she watched the spectacle.

Three of the four vampires circled their unresisting prisoners and picked out the ones that they wanted for themselves.

Damien, however, looked on without moving an inch.

The other active vampires separated out their chosen victims, glanced briefly at Damien, and then led them away to the other rooms in the club for a more private feeding.

Damien still did not move.

A few minutes later, unable to wait any longer, Hermione stood and slowly walked forwards to face him.

"How did you find me?" she asked quietly.

"That does not matter now."

"It does to me."

"Much as I would like to get to know _you_, my dear," drawled the vampire, "I feel that more time is needed before I allow you insight into my own secrets."

Hermione frowned. "But I thought that-"

"You thought that you, a new vampire with no insight into our ways, could hide from me? My dear, I have had centuries of experience. Rather presumptuous of you, don't you think?" sneered the man mockingly.

Hermione hung her head. She had tried so hard…

"Don't worry, precious. After time, you will learn everything that I did. I promised that I would come back for you, and I have."

Damien stalked closer to her, and brushed off a stray tear that had run down her cheek.

"Don't cry, Hermione. It's not so bad."

"And I should believe you for what reason?" she asked angrily, shaking her head so that his hand was knocked away.

"Because I was like you myself, once. You only need to trust me," said the man soothingly.

"Trust you?" Hermione snapped. "Trust the man that took my life, made me leave my friends, and ruined everything I ever worked for? The centuries must have turned your mind!"

"I never asked you to leave your friends. You could have stayed- after all, what has running away changed in the long run?"

"It kept them away from you," she spat in reply.

"Ah yes, I remember. You were one of those loyal, self-sacrificing Gryffindors, weren't you? How quaint."

"I suppose you were in Slytherin."

"You suppose wrong," said Damien with a smile. "I told you, I used to be just like you; a Gryffindor, prejudiced against vampires, with clear views about 'right' and 'wrong.'" He laughed. "The world isn't like that. I can teach you, Hermione, and like it or not, you will learn."

"What if I just leave?" said Hermione slowly, a plan forming in her mind.

"How do you propose to do that?"

"Well," she said slowly, bringing to mind all that she had learned about her powers over the last couple of years, "I could do… this!"

On that last word, she flung all of her anger and fear in Damien's direction.

She had used this form of attack once before, and it had blasted the vampire she had been using it on through a wall.

Sure enough, Damien flew backwards, hitting the bar with a sickening thud.

Without a pause, Hermione turned and ran.

Instead of heading towards the main exit of the club, through the midst of the other vampires who would have heard everything, she cut across the large room to the fire escape.

A moment later, standing outside in the cold, she paused for a moment. Looking wildly from side to side, she tried to work out which way to turn next.

Pivoting left, she headed for the darker alleyways. Hermione was certainly practiced enough at blending into the surroundings; hopefully this would help her now.

She jogged quietly down the narrow gap between two buildings, trying to decide where to head next.

She knew that her best bet was to leave the country. Damien may be able to track her, but if she kept moving then she could hold him off for at least a while.

Hermione turned sharply around some dustbins, then skidded to a halt.

"I thought that you were intelligent, Hermione," said Damien.

She spun around to see the other three vampires moving up to flank her.

Hermione turned back to the speaker who did not have a hair out of place, despite the supposedly halting attack that she had sent at him just minutes ago.

"You have taken too long to learn this lesson, Hermione. Let me tell you again: there is no use running. I always get what I want, and I want you."

Her only response was a scowl.

"Are you going to cooperate now? No? Ah well," said the vampire almost cheerfully. He waved a hand in Hermione's direction.

There was suddenly a rushing sound in her ears, and everything abruptly went black.

* * *

Before I forget, I have to add now that I'm not sure how often I will be able to update. My RL has just zoomed up on me! I can promise to update at least once a month, hopefully more, but I'm not sure. 

Hugs to my reviewers, **Princess-starseed 1987, Silver Butterfly 04, Natsuyori, Innogen, SPSB and Moony's-Mate** (my computer hid your review! Sulk).

_I will be inspired to find time to update faster if I get lots of reviews! Hint hint hint...._


	4. Hunter

_Disclaimer I own nothing. _

**Thanks to Heather, my wonderful beta!**

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**Chapter Four- Hunter**

Severus stormed into the office and threw his cloak into a corner.

"Bad mood again, Mister Snape?" asked his long suffering secretary, adding quietly, "What a surprise."

"I heard that," growled Severus, who could not be bothered to actually do anything about it.

"Whoa, sorry!" replied the unfortunate woman. "Honestly," she added to herself, "he could actually _be_ a vampire, what with th-"

"I heard that too, Miss White! And I do not appreciate being compared to the creatures that I am hunting. I would be very happy," said the increasingly annoyed man, "if you would just be quiet and get on with filing!"

"Yes, Mister Snape, sorry for annoying y-"

"Now!"

Severus glared at Lucy White for a moment, daring her to reply. She stared back, then turned to the stack of papers that had piled up on her desk and began to shuffle.

The raven-haired man in turn began to look through his own rather more orderly pile of papers.

The door to the office suddenly flew open and hit the wall with a crash. Severus swiftly ducked under his desk and reached into his robes for his wand.

"Got some papers for you, Mister Snape," sang an unfamiliar voice.

Severus slowly straightened, his patented Death Glare falling on a head overflowing with blonde ringlets.

"Who are you?" he snapped.

"Shelley, Mister Snape. I'm new here," the girl proudly proclaimed.

"I can tell. Now listen to me, _Shelley,_" spat Severus. "This corporation houses vampire hunters. Vam-pire hun-ters," he enunciated. "We are paranoid and jumpy. We are short tempered. We do not like people barging around loudly and entering our offices _without knocking_!"

Shelley whimpered.

Lucy immediately took pity on her and beckoned her over to give the usual 'Don't-worry-it's-only-Snape-he's-a-bit-mad' talk, her eyes shooting daggers at Severus. It was a talk that she gave to all of the people that were unlucky enough to venture into his office, and Lucy, as usual, made it as clear as she dared that she disapproved of his attitude. As usual, Severus ignored her.

When the unfortunate blonde had been calmed down enough to promise Lucy that she would not leave just because of the bad temper of the ex-teacher, she scuttled out of the room.

"Mister Snape, you really need to stop doing this to all of the new workers."

"Doing what?" asked Severus innocently.

"Terrorizing people. I can't imagine what you did to your poor students when you were a teacher…"

"Nothing they didn't deserve," he said darkly.

"Somehow, that doesn't comfort me," said the woman with a frown.

"That is not really my problem, Miss White. I believe that you were doing paper-work?"

Lucy snorted at the man and returned to work once more.

Severus picked up the pile of document that Shelley had dropped on his desk, and began to skim through them.

"Vampire club orgy type thing…" he muttered to himself, "yet another supposed attack on a muggle virgin… stupid wizards killed in Transylvania while sightseeing… sighting of Damien… Sighting of Damien?" Severus straightened in his chair, and looked more carefully at the sheet in question. Ever since he had handed in his notice at Hogwarts and begun his work as a vampire hunter, he and Damien had constantly been meeting, whether by coincidence or design.

_And that damned vampire always manages to slip through my hands,_ thought Severus grimly. _Well maybe this time he won't._

Severus had always told himself that he had not become a vampire hunter because he might at some point kill whatever vampire had done whatever had attacked her. He was just doing his duty to the Wizarding World, and helping the Ministry to rid themselves of the constant supply of non-peaceful vampires that were always plaguing them.

He was _certainly_ not doing it because maybe, just maybe, some day he might see her again.

Severus had told Dumbledore that he needed a change, and that it was time for him to leave Hogwarts. After all, now that the war was over it was safe for him to leave the children. He had owed the headmaster much for watching over him and lifting him from the darkness so many years ago, but he deemed his debt finally paid."

As he had told himself repeatedly, it was time to move on. Forget about the past, throw himself into whatever he felt like doing, maybe find a woman who could satisfy him…

But try as he had, no woman could satisfy him. _She_ had always been there in the back of his mind, like a splinter that he would never be able to dislodge.

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Severus turned to the people standing around him. They looked tense. Well, that was probably a good thing; it meant that they would be alert, and they certainly needed to be.

"You all know what to do, don't you?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, Severus," said one of the party with a thin smile. "We know what we're doing."

"I hope so."

The group split up as planned. Severus lead seven of them into the woods that surrounded the large house they were to break into, while the speaker lead two others up the path that lead directly to its front door. As he walked quickly through the wet leaves on the forest floor, Severus looked back towards the group walking up the path. They were out of sight.

He sighed. The protocol was always such a hindrance. They were on Ministry business, so they were not allowed just to break into the house and capture everyone in it. No, instead a well armed party had to go into the house and formally attempt to arrest the vampires in question. The party would of course be refused, and then attacked. The vampires would then be alerted to the presence of the others who were there to finish the job of arresting them and rescuing the original delegates. The annoying thing was that as ineffective as this plan was, if it was done any other way then the vampires, once arrested, could take their captors to court. Since the vampires were almost human, they had rights. And Severus certainly had no intention of landing in Azkaban.

"Found it!"

"Good," said Severus, hurrying towards the trap-door that one of the members of the elite group of vampire hunters had found. Severus had asked for the best in the business, and he had been given them. It took a real professional to find something hidden under so many layers of leaves and protective spells.

The light emitting from his wand allowed him to exchange glances with the rest of his team. A whispered spell later, the door opened and after a quick look, Severus climbed in.

As he descended the cold metal ladder that led to the basement of the house, Severus hoped that this time he would succeed. From the information he had, Damien was renting the house with a small number of other vampires. Apparently they were taking a break of some sort, and would not be expecting any attacks.

Severus unlocked the second door that led into the basement and lightly dropped through it. A moment later the rest of the team followed. Surprisingly, the door swung _upwards _to shut behind them.

"_Lumos_," whispered Severus, and the room was lit as everyone else followed suit.

A second later, the shocked wizards and witches were plunged into darkness once more as their wands were snatched from their hands.

Severus vowed to himself that if he survived long enough, he was going to find whoever had fed him the information about the '_small number of vampires_' and ensure that they suffered for a great length of time.

The room that they had dropped into was large, but it had been completely filled regardless. Even the best fighters that the Ministry could provide did not stand a chance against at least a hundred vampires.

As Severus felt his mind giving in to the oblivion that was offered by the powers that the more powerful vampires possessed, he lamented being outsmarted by Damien again.

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Severus woke, and grimaced in pain.

Glancing around, he was able to make out the figures of the other people in his team in similar positions to himself; hung from the walls by their hands.

All ten of his companions were there, although none of them were conscious yet.

There was someone else in the room as well. They were not hung from the walls, but instead were lying on a bed in a moderately sized cage, built by vampires especially for holding human prey.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively.

The figure on the bed sat up, and moved towards the bars. Severus strained his eyes so that he could see what they looked like.

His eyes settled on long brown hairand a face that he thought that he would only see again in his dreams. Right now, the woman's full lips were parted slightly, and her chocolate coloured eyes were wide with shock.

"Hermione?"

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AN: Can this be? I have I actually _updated _this fic? Wow. Sorry for the long wait, I'm afraid there are probably more to come. I'm not sure when exactly the next chapter of this fic will come up (within the next couple of months, I can promise that!), but I will do my best. I just have too much going on atm.

Sorry the chapter is so short, but I just wanted to get it out!

Thanks to my lovely reviewers, **Miss Elvira Dark **(glad you like him!), **princess-Starseed-1987, momsangel, Moon-n-Universe-Goddess, Evil Penguin Slayer **(love the name!) and **Natsuyori. **

_Please review!_


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